ECB will take a long time to normalize policy: Weidmann

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FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo - RC147FB3DD60

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will take a ‘long time’ to fully end stimulus and normalize policy, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, a frequent critic of ultra-loose policy, said on Wednesday.

“Concerning central bank interest rates, we have said that we’ll keep them on hold through next summer, then envisage a rate rise,” Weidmann said in Berlin. “So you see, it will take a long time before monetary policy returns back to a normal.”

The ECB plans to end its 2.6 trillion euro bond purchase scheme known as quantitative easing in December but promised continued support through low rates and an oversized balance sheet for years to come.